I also shared the dubious explanation researchers gave as to why this deadly trend is taking hold of the country now.

Needless to say, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) buried the lead. Their report focused on hepatitis C infection as a driving cause behind these climbing death rates. While conveniently underplaying the role that obesity and diabetes (not to mention a few other noteworthy threats) play in destroying your liver.

So allow me to fill in a few blanks. And offer up not one, but three different (much more plausible) explanations for this not-so-puzzling trend:

excessive consumption of statin drugs

overuse of acetaminophen, and

non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

There’s no question in my mind that these three factors are the true culprits behind the spike in liver cancer death rates. But if you need more convincing, just look at the numbers…

During the period from 2008 to 2012, liver cancer rates were nearly three times higher in men than in women (with an incidence rate of 11.5 percent versus 3.9 percent, respectively).

I’d be remiss if I didn’t also point out that this was the same time frame during which the corrupt powers-that-be launched their ongoing “statins-for-everybody” campaign. Results of the controversial JUPITER trial — purporting the dubious benefits of statin use, even in patients with normal cholesterol levels — appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2008.

And surprise! The statin drug market boomed in response. Particularly among men.

But statins are hardly the only threat to your liver. Especially if you’re among the many Americans who think popping Tylenol all day every day is perfectly safe. Because despite being a household name, this popular over-the-counter painkiller isn’t safe at all.

Of course, the irony in all of this is that we wouldn’t need to rely on so many cholesterol-lowering and pain-killing drugs if we took better care of our bodies and overhauled our habits. Starting with the Standard American Diet.

Because you know what? That’s the real villain in this situation.

As I mentioned yesterday, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is skyrocketing in the U.S. population. Even among kids as young as two years old. But the situation is even more dire among older adults, whose livers are increasingly packed with lethal fat.

And why are Americans’ livers storing so much fat? Because we’re a nation of overeaters — with a particular fondness for sugar and carbs. It’s as simple as that.

You’ve heard me talk about the dangers of “stowaway sugar” before. But it really is the primary culprit here. Think of NAFLD as diabesity of the liver. It paves the way to inflammation. Then cirrhosis. And eventually, to primary liver cancer.

So the fact that a third of the population is currently facing down fatty liver — and as many as one in ten kids? Well, I’d hardly call those rocketing liver cancer death rates surprising, would you?

The NCI can dance around the 600-pound gorilla in the room for as long as they want. But you and I both know what’s really happening here. We’re eating our way into a liver cancer crisis.

And the only silver lining to this looming cloud is that we can eat our way right out of it.

That is, if we can get the rest of the medical establishment on board, and aggressively campaigning against sugar and unnecessary medication use — just like I’ve been doing my whole career.

But so long as they insist on clinging to their misguided “standards of care,” I can’t see that happening anytime soon. In the meantime, I’ll be sticking with my story until someone can prove me wrong.

If you value your liver — and your life — I urge you to stick with me.